Classically Elegant Jewelry Designs to Let You Shine!
Beautiful and unique creations for a wide variety of tastes and styles. Mainly wirework, often complex and occasionally trendy. My hope is that you will find something you love and cherish for a lifetime.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Ok, so I've been making jewelry for about 8 years now. Never once have I oxidized any of my sterling silver until the other day. It seems to be a popular trend, this darkened silver, and I have to say, after trying it out, it really changes the look of the jewelry.

At first I tried the boiled egg method.....it's where you boil an egg, cut it in half and put your silver in to oxidize in a natural way. Egg yolk has sulphur in it which causes the chemical oxidation process. Um...not for me. So I bought a bottle of Liver of Sulphur. Mixed it up according to directions, with 1 cup of cold water and...voila! Nothing. So, being the reader I am, I have done my homework and researched this method and find that the water must be very warm. So I microwave the solution. Upon opening the microwave, I am overcome with the smell of rotten eggs. Not a few, but hundreds, maybe thousands of them. I hold my breath, dip the earrings in and like magic they start to transform!!!

The smell is becoming rather noxious, so I open the back door for some ventilation. Did I mention it's 6º here with a wind chill factor of -30º? So, here I am freezing and gagging trying to fish the earrings out of the solution, manage to wash them off and try to decide if I want to save the solution or dump it. I opt for some saran wrap over the container while I decide.

The earrings turned out fantastic!!! The finish is permanent and a very striking contrast to the ruby red quartz briolettes. Serpent - Blackened Silver and Ruby Quartz Long Dangle EarringsSince winter is in full swing I'm not sure when I will try this again, doing it inside is just not an option. Freezing my butt off outside is also not an option I'm likely to try anytime soon, either.